Implementing new workplace safety initiatives to protect your workers and your company can be fairly costly. However, there are several things you can do to stay within budget while improving safety for all parties. Follow these essential tips to improve your workplace safety standard without hurting your company's bottom line.

Hire Employees with Good Safety Records

One of the best things you can do to keep your workplace safe is to hire employees who have a track record of complying with safety standards. Hiring employees with good safety records is important for several reasons. Firstly, these employees will have a better idea of what is expected on the manufacturing floor or elsewhere. Secondly, these employees will be easier to train on new standards or updates. Third, these employees will be more likely to adapt quickly, so there will be less training involved overall. In some cases, these employees may even be able to train others with minimal direction and supervision.

Include Behavioral Interview Questions

By asking questions that address behavior regarding safety, an employer can gain insight into how an employee would act in a risk situation, and how they have reacted in unsafe situations in the past. Questions such as “How would you react in a situation where a co-worker said it was okay to use an unsafe piece of machinery?” can provide insight into an employee's character and behaviors.

Invest More in Quality Training

If you are having a hard time keeping employees compliant, or there have been more reports of work-related injuries lately, make sure to invest more time in training employees properly. This may involve full-day, hands-on training sessions with management, video tutorials, printable handouts and distributing other materials to ensure all employees are aware of OSHA guidelines and safety standards. Encouraging new recruits to participate in these training sessions and ensuring everybody attends training seminars or meetings can help to set a higher safety standard in the workplace.

Part of your training program may include having employees take a short test, quiz or even an exam to ensure everybody understands new safety standards and expectations. Employees who do not pass the test initially may need to attend another meeting or complete a private training session with management to ensure they fully understand the scope of all safety standards. This will ensure employees take safety standards seriously and understand the company's expectations.

Demand Safety Practices and Compliance with Standards

It is not effective to implement new safety practices without enforcing them. You need to make sure all of your workers are aware of any changes or updates to guidelines, and that you have members of management who are responsible for regulating and monitoring changes. Make sure your workers are complying with new safety standards through regular check-ins and updates from management. Encourage all teams to pay attention to safety practices and comply with injury-reporting and hazard-reporting guidelines.

Safety programs are a benefit to everyone within the company. No one walks away injured, no one is put at risk for injury, and management can be more at ease knowing the right measures are being taken. In the end safety programs keep everyone safe which is most important, and cut down on costs of losing employees to injury. Because of this, safety programs are a critical investment, and should never be seen as an expense. For tips and advice about workplace safety and employment, get in touch with the experts at Bear Staffing.

Takeaways:

• Improve workplace safety standards by hiring employees with good safety records
• Invest more time and resources in quality training programs
• Demand compliance with all standards and encourage management to pay attention to new safety practices and changes